My research focuses on understanding processes of teaching and learning, especially of mathematics and science, from kindergarten through college. I am also interested in re-thinking the role of research and development in education, and in particular, how researchers can work with designer/developers and practitioners to build and improve education interventions.

Biography:

James W. Stigler is Professor of Psychology at UCLA. He is co-author of The Teaching Gap (with James Hiebert, Free Press, 1999) and The Learning Gap (with Harold Stevenson, Simon & Schuster, 1992). He directed the TIMSS video studies (1993-2003), and in 1998 founded LessonLab Inc., a company whose mission was to study and improve classroom teaching, which became part of Pearson Education in 2003. He received his A.B. from Brown University in 1976, a Masters in Education from the University of Pennsylvania in 1977, and a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from the University of Michigan in 1982. Before moving to Los Angeles in 1991, he served eight years on the faculty of the University of Chicago. He has received numerous awards for his research, including a Guggenheim Fellowship and the QuEST award from the American Federation of Teachers. Dr. Stigler is best known for his observational work in classrooms, and has pioneered the use of multimedia technology for the study of classroom instruction.

Santagata, R. Kersting, N., Givvin, K. B., & Stigler, J. W. (2011). Problem implementation as a lever for change: An experimental study of the effects of a professional development program on students’ mathematics learning. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 4, 1-24.

Stigler, J. W. (1996). Large-scale video surveys for the study of classroom processes. In G. Hoachlander, J. E. Griffith, and J. H. Ralph (Eds.), From data to information: New directions for the National Center for Education Statistics. U.S. Dept. of Ed., National Center for Education Statistics.

Stigler, J. W., Fernandez, C., and Yoshida, M. (1996). Cultures of mathematics instruction in Japanese and American elementary classrooms. In T. Rohlen and G. Le Tendre (Eds.), Teaching and learning in Japan. New York: Cambridge University Press. Pp. 213-247.